1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to substrates, in particular home textiles, which have been given an oil-, water- and soil-repellant treatment, and to fluorine-containing compositions for this purpose.
Many substrates, in particular home textiles, for example carpets, acquire oil-, water- and soil-repellant properties by treating, for example, the pile of a carpet with fluorocarbon compounds.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to the literature, particularly good effects are to be obtained by mixtures of fluorocarbon compounds with various fluorine-free substances. DE-A 3 307 420 discloses a mixture of fluorocarbon compounds and organosil-sesquioxanes which are employed for carpet treatment. DE-A 2 149 292 and DE-C 3 002 369 disclose a mixture of water-insoluble fluorocarbon compounds, which, for example, can be in the form of ester or urethane, and water-insoluble polymers which are free from fluorine in the non-vinyl position and have main transition temperatures above 45.degree. C. or 25.degree. C., respectively. Main transition temperatures are melting points or glass transition temperatures. According to DE-A 2 149 292 and DE-C 3 002 369, preferred water-insoluble polymers having a glass transition temperature above 45.degree. C. are, for example, polymethyl methacrylate or poly(methyl methacrylate-co-ethyl methacrylate). It is emphasized here that the compositions for prevention of embedding of dirt should be neither tacky nor rubbery. Common disadvantages of the treatment compositions mentioned are that large amounts of the fluorocarbon-containing compositions, based on the carpet fibre weight, must be employed to achieve good oil-, water- and soil-repellant properties. It is also a disadvantage of the abovementioned treatment compositions that the water-repellant properties of the treated textile floor coverings are not adequate for increased requirements (for example water/isopropanol repellancies greater than 50/50: cf. embodiment examples), even when large amounts are employed. Another disadvantage is that after the treatment with the abovementioned fluorine-containing treatment agents, the textile floor coverings must be heated to at least 70.degree. C., but usually to 100.degree. to 130.degree. C., to acquire the desired effects. However, heat treatments at elevated temperature are expensive and are therefore undesirable, and are sometimes harmful to certain carpet constructions. The treatment compositions according to DE-A 2 149 292 and DE-C 3 002 369 furthermore have the disadvantage that only certain treatment methods produce satisfactory results. However, the treatment method used depends on the treatment plant available and thus cannot be determined beforehand.
EP 552 630 and EP 554 667 furthermore disclose treatment compositions for various substrates which are based only on fluorine-containing copolymers and therefore require higher deposits of the expensive fluorine components on the substrates.